Fox Ridicules Obama For Saying We Should Use Less Oil

February 22, 2013 2:16 PM EST ›››
MAX GREENBERG

Fox News is mocking President Barack Obama for saying the U.S. must use less oil in a recent interview, suggesting it was a callous and unfounded idea. But experts across the political spectrum agree that the only way to reduce our vulnerability to gasoline price spikes is to cut our oil dependence.

On Wednesday, the president gave an interview to a local South Carolina news station. Responding to a question on high gasoline prices, President Obama said he was "proud" that oil production during his tenure has been high, but emphasized that the "overall economy [must] use less oil."Obama referenced ways that he has worked toward this goal, including implementing fuel economy standards that a group of retired military officers and business leaders called "the most important energy security accomplishment in decades," and proposing further research into alternative transportation technology.

On Thursday, Fox & Friends' Brian Kilmeade asked, "really? So I should stop driving to work, I should start jogging? I'm not really sure what that means." Steve Doocy added, "So if you want to save money, use less oil. Just stop driving. Don't go anywhere, stay in your house, watch television." At no point did the co-hosts reference the policies that Obama specifically cited so that we can move toward lower oil use economy-wide:

On Friday, Fox & Friends continued to mock Obama's proposal, suggesting it was useless:

U.S. gasoline prices are a function of the world crude oil market (and the world economy generally), and experts from across the political spectrum have acknowledged that increased drilling won't lower prices at the pump -- no matter who is in the White House.

Furthermore, drilling has actually been on the rise recently. In the 154-year history of commercial crude oil in the U.S., production has never increased by more in one year than it did between 2011 and 2012 -- about 790,000 barrels, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration. Despite all this, gasoline prices have gone up. Experts say that the only way to make Americans less vulnerable to these spikes is to, as Obama said, "use less oil."